A complete system with books, videos and an interactive website
Studieskolen began developing Danish to Go back in 2012. Trille Hassager has been part of the project from the very beginning and is also the project manager for Danish to Go 4.
She explains that from the outset, the idea was to create a system where students could learn Danish through a mix of classroom teaching and individual study at home.
The result is Danish to Go, which includes textbooks and an interactive website with audio, videos, exercises, resources and group tasks.
We now have Danish to Go 1, 2, 3 and 4, corresponding to modules 1 through 4 of the free Danish Education 3 (DU3) programme. The materials are also used in our private Danish courses up to level B1.4.
The content varies slightly depending on the level – for example, Danish to Go 1 includes explanations in English, and both Danish to Go 1 and 2 feature their own mini soap opera, with one episode per chapter.
But everything is part of a cohesive and recognisable system that’s easy to navigate, giving our students a clear overview of their progress.
”It should reflect our students’ lives”
As with previous versions, the goal with Danish to Go 4 has been to create material that is relevant, current and meaningful.
The material was developed by Trille herself, Louise Storm and Tom Fagerland. Tom and Louise both work as Danish teachers at Studieskolen, but spent 10 months working full-time on creating material for Danish to Go 4.
It takes time to create material that not only covers everything a student at that level needs to master, but is also fun and engaging to work with.
Trille says this has been the guiding principle throughout the process:
“We hope that the students will find the topics fun and relevant for speaking Danish. That they feel the content reflects their own lives, and that learning Danish this way is enjoyable. That’s been the goal we have had in mind all along.”
Topical and relevant themes such as climate, AI and education
The themes covered in Danish to Go 4 are topics that are relevant to most people’s daily lives:
- Technology and AI
- Climate
- School and education
- Diversity
- Money and personal finances
- Media and news
“Most people can talk about these things,” explains Trille. “You don’t need a bunch of special knowledge to discuss how you spend your money, to take an example.”
And that’s the whole point – the material is based on everyday experiences, making it easier to talk about and helping students speak more freely – even in Danish.
“Our teachers tell us it really works. For example, we have an activity where students take out their smartphones and compare apps, and another where they analyse emojis and guess their meanings. These kinds of activities really get students talking in class! Because the topics are fun to talk about, they forget they’re in a Danish class – they just dive into the task!”
Studieskolen’s students are happy with Danish to Go
Trille shares that students at Studieskolen are very happy with Danish to Go, and that there’s already been lots of positive feedback on Danish to Go 4.
The material also supports Studieskolen’s teaching approach. Our method is communicative and functional, meaning the focus is on students using Danish actively and independently – not just in class, but in everyday life too. The development of Danish to Go 4 includes an extended testing phase with feedback from both teachers and students, which shapes the final product.
All of this contributes to making learning Danish at Studieskolen a unique experience. And that, says Trille, makes all the hard work worth it:
“It’s a huge effort. When we developed Danish to Go 3, Tom, Louise and I worked on it full-time for 15 months. Andreas Lysholt, who also teaches Danish at Studieskolen, was part of the team for a while and put a lot of work into it too.
We’re constantly hearing that students enjoy Danish to Go. It’s great that they can now use the same material from the very beginning and all the way through to module 4 on DU3 and B1.4 on the private courses,” says Trille.
Can you use Danish to Go if you’re not a student at Studieskolen?
“No. Danish to Go is exclusive to Studieskolen. If you want to use it, you’ll have to sign up for a course with us!” Trille finishes with a smile.